This will affect people now in their 40s and below; nobody over 50 will have a retirement age of 68 or more. If you are in your 20s this means you may have to work until you are 70. If you are in your 30s you may have to wait until you reach 69.

If you are a saver …

As previously trailed you will be able to put more in an Isa or, if you are saving on behalf of a child, in his or her Junior Isa.

The Isa limit will increase from £11,520 to £11,880 (half of which can be saved in a cash Isa) from April next year, while the Junior Isa limit will rise from £3,720 to £3,840.

If you pay energy bills …

The chancellor announced measures to cut bills by an average of £50 from January 2014 by reducing the cost of the levy to fund energy efficiency measures, and giving every household a £12 rebate in 2014 and 2015. You will still be paying more than 12 months ago, though. British Gas, for example, has announced it will cut household gas and electricity prices by an average of 3.2%, or an average to £41 off the annual dual fuel bill – and on top of this, its customers will get the £12 rebate. However, it recently put prices up by 9.2% – or £107 a year.

If you are a buy-to-let landlord …

Currently you are exempt on three years of capital gains tax (CGT) on the rise in value of a second property when you come to sell it – provided you have lived in it as your main home at some stage. However, the chancellor announced that this relief will be halved to 18 months from April 2014. Unless you moved out less than a year and a half ago, you will face a higher tax bill on any profits.

If you are an investor …

You can take advantage of tax relief on investments in social enterprises from April 2014. This includes charities, community interest companies or community benefit societies. The government says it will publish a “roadmap” for social investment in January 2014, with more details to be announced then. If your company offers a Save as You Earn scheme, the amount you can invest through it will double in April 2014.

If you’re a first-time buyer …

The chancellor confirmed that more lenders, including Aldermore and Virgin, will offer Help to Buy mortgages, so the market could get more competitive for those seeking loans with small 5% deposits.

If you are a homebuyer …

First-time buyers and movers will be able to claim money to help them make the property they are buying more energy-efficient. This could be up to £1,000 for measures such as insulation, or up to £4,000 for particularly expensive measures such as solid wall insulation, and the money will be available for three years. How it will work is to be subject to consulted – it could be linked to the Green Deal, or run as a separate scheme.

If you are a driver …

The chancellor has frozen the planned 2p a litre rise for January in fuel duty, proving some cheer for drivers. Road haulage companies and others reliant on the road distribution network will also benefit.

If you are a commuter …

Fares in January will rise in line with inflation, cancelling the expected 1% above-inflation rise. This will provide some relief to rail passengers, although they have been hit by a series of above-inflation hikes over recent years.

If you are a pensioner …

The basic state pension will rise by £2.95 in 2014 to £113.10 a week. You will also be able to make voluntary national insurance contributions to improve your entitlement to a state pension.

If you own a small business …

Small shopkeepers will be given a £1,000 discount on their rates. Small businesses with properties worth up to £50,000 will be entitled to the discount. The chancellor also promised to limit rises in business rates to 2%, and has extended the small business rate relief scheme beyond 2014. Businesses will also be allowed to pay their rates in 12 monthly installments.

If you are working …

The first £10,000 of anything you earn will be tax-free from April. However, more workers will end up having to pay 40% tax as the amount of income you need to earn before this rate kicks in will fall to £41,865 from April 2014.

If you are a married couple …

You will be able to transfer up to £1,000 of your personal tax allowance to your wife, husband, or civil partner, from 2015, assuming neither of you is a higher-rate taxpayer and one of you is earning less than the personal allowance.

If you are on benefits …

The chancellor announced a cap on welfare. From April 2014 increases in a raft of welfare benefits and tax credits will be capped at a maximum of 1% until 2016. However, Jobseeker’s Allowance and other benefits that are changed depending on economic circumstances will be excluded from the cap. The three-year freeze on child benefit is scheduled to end in April next year. Assuming the provisions of the uprating bill are applied to child benefit from April next year, expect another 20p on the £20.30 a week paid for the first child and 15p on the £13.40 for the second.